The Pretender 2010: Helter Skelter
by PhenyxArises
Summary: Miss Parker captures the Pretender outside a London night club eight years after Carthis. Will she really turn him over to the Centre? Rated R! P/J Non-consent to please the masses, of course. If that isn't your cup of tea, don't read!
1. Capture

Jarod stepped out of the posh London night club, his brain still thumping along to the beat of that catchy tune.

**_If your body matches what your eyes can do, you'll probably move right through me on my way to you_**

He didn't even see her, or Sam until it was too late to run.

"Cuff him." She barked the order to her ever loyal sweeper as she stared Jarod directly in the eyes.  
"Please! Miss Parker, please! Don't do this!"  
"Save it!"  
"I think I know what they're planning to do us, that's why I was here, I was following a lead, they're going to-"  
"They can't touch me Jarod and why would they? **You're **the pretender! She seethed. "You're just trying to save your own ass."  
"use us to-"  
She slapped him across the face with the butt of her gun.  
Jarod momentarily lost his balance and if not for the sweeper's iron grip on his arm, he would have collided with the pavement.  
"Gag him!"  
Sam simply complied.

**The Centre **

**Mr. Lyle's office**

Parker calmly walked into the office.  
"Still haven't learned to knock have you sis?"  
"It's over!" Parker hissed.  
"What are you talking about sis?"  
"Sam." She called out with a sneer without even turning.  
Lyle's eyes widened as Jarod was hauled roughly into the room.  
"Consider this my notice baby brother."  
"You're leaving?"  
"That_ was_ the arrangement."  
"Well, what will you do now?"  
"I'm going to live."  
"Good luck Parker. Keep in touch."  
"Don't count it Lyle." She hissed, then turned to leave.  
"Miss Parker please!" Jarod pleaded. She gazed into Jarod's tear filled eyes, molten chocolate and wide with fear, anger, and betrayal.

"You had a good run genius boy but now it's _my_ turn to have a life."  
Tears slipped past his eyelids.  
Parker calmly brushed past him.

Lyle stood calmly, a smile on his lips.  
He grabbed Jarod's arm then pulled his weapon.  
"Sam-" Lyle began. "You're fired." Jarod jumped despite the silencer on the weapon. Sam dropped to the floor, a bullet in his head.  
Lyle then leveled the gun at Jarod's head and stepped over to his desk. He punched a button on the intercom.  
"Willie, Miss Parker is on her way out, see to it that she doesn't get there."

"You had this planned." Jarod snarled.  
"Yes I did."  
"Don't kill her Lyle, please-"  
"_Kill_ her?" Lyle chuckled. "Jarod, I think my sis may be of some value here."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Oh, a bit of bargaining chip." Lyle winked. "You'll find out soon enough."

"No!" Jarod heard Parker scream. His head snapped towards the door. "Let me go!"  
He blinked in apparent confusion then started, began to bolt for the door.  
Lyle pulled him back by the cuffs.

Jarod gasped for breath, felt that he was a little boy again hearing Catherine's screams.  
But it was Parker, not her mother. He feared she would share the same fate however.

"Let me go!" She cried out.

The room began spinning around Jarod. He had to stop this, had to stop it now, had to find some way to get her out of this.  
The wheels in his mind began turning just as he felt the sting in his arm.  
Jarod glared at the needle in his arm and watched in horror as Lyle dropped the plunger on the syringe, emptying the contents of said syringe into his body.

"I don't feel tired or-" Jarod began.  
"It's not a sedative. You aren't going to Africa."  
"I don't understand."  
"Well I'll explain it to then. Hell, you aren't going to be able to stop this anyway now."  
"Stop what?"  
"Our plan to make you work and my plan to carry on the pretender gene."  
Jarod swallowed audibly.

"What?" He asked in disgust. "You are going to torture her to make me work." Jarod had always feared the Centre monsters would go to such extremes.  
"Better than that Jarod."  
"Better?"  
Lyle smiled as he circled the pretender. "**You** are going to torture her."  
"Never." Jarod whispered.

"Oh yes. And when it's all over, you are going to feel so remorseful. You are going to repair whatever damage you inflict on her, see first hand what happens when you are disobedient and you will never again question the work you do. I'm beyond the traditional methods, the playing nice."  
"Lyle please. You haven't even given me a chance. I want to work now, I don't care about-"  
"Ah now, she at least deserves pay back for the bruises on your face Jarod. You'll remember that later."  
"Don't do this Lyle, please. I'll work without questions, I'll do anything but please-"  
"No can do Jarod. I'm taking no chances this time." Lyle smiled. "Aren't you even going to ask about just how we plan to replicate the pretender gene after all the destruction you caused to our various labs over the years?"  
"How?"  
"Let's just say I'm killing two birds with one stone."  
"No. No! Please. She...I can't do that-"  
"Hey, she's disease free, hasn't been with anyone since Thomas. We've followed her relentlessly and bugged her house. She doesn't even have a power tool in the night stand."  
"No. I could never do that, there's no way you-"  
"A hefty dose of adrenaline along with a drug that our scientists have been perfecting will allow you to do things you've only dreamed about -"  
"I haven't dreamed-"  
"You will do it and you will like it. When it's all over, you will work. You will finally be pliable and I'm finally going to have the key to my future. That baby. It's a beautiful plan."


	2. Confrontation

Parker was pacing her cell when the door at the end of the corridor slammed opened, the loud echoing caused the dull pain in her head to increase.  
She observed as Lyle sauntered up to the bars, on one side freedom, on the other, prison.  
"Let me out of here you son of a bitch."  
"Ever heard the one about catching more flies with honey?"  
"Coming from a maggot..."  
"You don't want to anger me."  
"Don't I?"

Lyle smiled.  
"I have something for you." He explained as he slid a key into the lock.  
"Freedom?"  
"No. I'm going to give you something you've wanted for some time. I thought it was.." Lyle smirked. "fitting."  
Jarod was shoved into her line of sight.  
"What the hell is he doing here?"  
"You two are going to be roomies."  
"Roomies?" She was obviously in a state of utter disbelief. "Lyle, aside from the one eyed, one armed, one man freak show on corridor ten of the renewal wing, there is no else here. Put Jarod in another cell."  
"I'm afraid not."  
"Why?"  
"Location. Location. Location. My goal simply can not be accomplish if you and the rat here are in separate spaces. It's all about geography sis. I'll let monkey boy here explain it all to you."  
Lyle shoved Jarod into the cell then quickly slammed it shut, locked it, smiled then left.  
"What the hell is he talking about?"  
"Nice to see you again too Miss Parker."  
"Start explaining."  
"Lyle isn't going to give me a chance to refuse the sims, not this time."  
"And?"  
Jarod was quiet, contemplative, trying to find some way to explain it to her.  
"Jarod?"  
"He wants to pass on the pretender gene as well as your inner sense."  
"Oh my god. That son of a bitch is going to have me inseminated with your..."  
"No. No." Jarod slid to the floor. "I wish that was the intended method but..."  
"But what!"  
"He injected me with drugs, something that he referred to as 4905FFX."  
Parker spun around to face him.  
"You knew that your brother was experimenting-"  
"Broots found some codes in Lyle's private files last month. We figured it out all yet yesterday and..."  
"And you did nothing to stop him." Jarod's voice full of condemnation and disgust. "It's important that I know more about this cocktail."  
"Ecstasy, adrenaline, viagra, and a drug known only as M911."

"I aided the Centre in developing M911." Jarod whispered.  
"You knew about M911? And yet, you said nothing!" She seethed, diverting all blame in his direction.  
"Blaming each other will get us no where." Jarod whispered.  
"So you know" She began hopefully, "you know how to stop this, you can..."  
"M911", He interrupted her, "is a powerful cocktail in its on right, composed of testosterone as well as a drug which activates the brain's melanocortin receptors and another drug which boosts arousal."  
"And you tell me this now!" Parker was absolutely fuming. "What are we going to do?" She screamed at him.  
"There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

"You're" She shook her head, caught her breath. "sorry!"  
"We're going to be transferred just before the injection. We'll be both heavily shackled. It will be your only chance to escape. Maybe I can distract them or-"  
"Why the hell did you tell me this? Why now? Now when I can nothing to stop them!"  
"Because if this goes through the way they've planned, I don't want you to think I ... I would never do something like that to anyone and especially not to you."  
"You think I care about your motives, that knowing your reasons in advance will make me feel better? Now I know and I have this to look forward to for the next forty two minutes and-"  
"Stop."  
He demanded.  
She spun around to face him. "Excuse me?"  
"Going on and on about it won't help anything. I need to think."  
"You need to think!"  
"Yes, there has to be something I can do."  
But there wasn't and the clock was ticking.  
And ticking. Ticking. Ticking. The hands on the clock moved in reverse, not forward, he felt the room shift.

**_Back in the bar._**  
**_I'm back in the bar. He whispered the words, puzzled. No. No. This is all wrong. I was at the bar but then I was cuffed and flown back to Blue Cove where Sam was swiftly and so very neatly killed and then, the cherry on top of that shit sundae ...I was locked away with Miss Parker. But no. That couldn't be._**

Jarod scanned the room, some psychedelic dream merging into a reality. It wasn't real. Some how he knew that. He had to break free, return to where he was, in that cell, down in the bowels of the Centre, the renewal wing. Jarod attempted, he swung around, pivoted on his heel but in his peripheral vision, he caught a glimpse. Yes. She was there too. On the dance floor, among the frenzied bodies, she was there. Vivacious. His predator, beautiful huntress, she was there.  
And then he heard the music. It was pumping, so vivid, he could feel it, found himself moving to the sound, and towards the sea of bodies on the floor, to her. The attraction pulling him. Closer.  
Her hands above her head, her body undulating in the darkness. Rhythmically. Seductively.

A little voice whispered no. **_No Jarod. This is all wrong._**

It felt so right.

"Jarod!" There was a voice. Hers. Both threatening, angry. But no. It couldn't be. She was dancing, sliently moving her hips, her body so deliciously to the song. That song.

**I'm not paralyzed but I seemed to be struck by you**

She spotted him just as he approached her.  
Still. Her movements ceased, arms lowered to her side. The music now falling on dead ears. She glared at him.

"This is something I should have done a long time."  
And still, she glared at him.  
Even as he leaned in slowly, so slowly. The speakers pounding out the song as he moved closer, closer.

**I want to make you move because your standing still**

His lips ghosted hers, just a taste.  
Then a slap.  
The darkness was gone. The music, the bodies, the flicker of lights. Vanished. Vanished before his eyes.  
_**No. This isn't right either. This was not...CORRECTION...*is* not supposed to happen.**_  
Jarod blinked dazedly.  
She was there. Still there. Like always, she was everywhere, in both reality and the strange unreality. She existed where he existed. He simply could not escape her.


	3. Coercion

"You can't do this." She stated evenly, so calmly.  
"I can't do what? I just, I wanted to dance and..." His eyes shifted around the cold, stale cell.  
"Dance? What...what the hell are you talking about? We have to figure out a way to stop Lyle."  
"Lyle." Jarod whispered .  
"Do you need to sit down?" Parker asked.  
"No. It's too late."  
"What? What is too late?"  
"They aren't going to move us, they..." Jarod gazed around the room. Eight small red lights danced brilliantly beyond the small vents in the walls and ceiling. Vents too small for an entire foot, let alone an entire body. Yes. Lyle had learned to not only ensnare but to detain indefinitely. "They're watching, listening. They won't wait to move us, it's too...it's too dangerous to move us."  
"What are you talking about? Why are you talking like that? Why do you sound so...so...strange?"

The room darkened, the fabulous lights were dancing rhythmically, like the music, the bodies all meshing together, his reality, his world, her world, this terrible, horribly unfair world, everything merging so spectacularly with a reality that he could accept. A lie. It was all a lie.

"No." Jarod whispered.  
"No? Jarod, you're here. I'm here."  
Parker cupped his face, pulled it closer.  
"Now where we were?" She smiled. He adored the smile. "How much have you had to drink tonight?"  
"Not enough." He replied.  
Wordlessly, she took his hand and pulled him to the bar.  
"Two tequilas!" She shouted at the bartender.  
The young man haphazardly filled two shot glasses with the golden liquid and slid them across the surface of the bar.  
It's not her, it's not real. The voice tugged at his soul.  
"Liquid courage in a single shot."  
He never could make a move. Never really would have ever made a move, not the first move, not after the cold rejection, those cold, unfeeling, void eyes which spoke volumes in the limo. She didn't have to say anything, but she had, injuring him as brutally with words as she had with just a look.

Furthermore, only in a drug induced stupor would he do the unthinkable. And her, this image, this distorted, unreal version of his Miss Parker was seducing him. Jarod didn't dare imagine what was happening back in reality where the, unfeeling, non-conducive Miss Parker resided with a different version of himself in a small cell.

Tossing back the two tequila shots, the thought washed away.

**I'm still imaging a dark lit place or your place or my place, well I'm not paralyzed but I seem to be...**

The song continued.  
"Now what?" She asked, slamming her empty shot glass on the bar.  
"I wonder what **_she's_** doing now."  
Parker scanned the room, confused.  
"What?" She shouted over the music.  
"Oh...I.." **_Tell her Jarod. I wonder what the real Miss Parker is doing now. Tell her that and this substitute unreal Miss Parker will drag your unreal arse to the unreal shrink. I wonder if Sydney can help._**

**_Please Sydney. Please help her._**

Broots scrambled into the room frantically.  
"You've learned nothing." Sydney whispered.  
"Nada. This floor is sealed. We can't even leave this floor without an escort. The renewal wing is off limits. The network is whacked. What do you think this means Syd?"  
"I don't know Broots but I, I simply can not stand by and do nothing." Sydney stood.  
"Wh...where are you going?"  
"Somewhere I should have gone a very long time ago."  
Broots was befuddled.  
"To the authorities."  
"The aut...you can't do that!"  
"I suggest you clear out anything that ties you to the Centre. Leave Broots. Or come with me instead. Miss Parker is our friend. She would never allow you to be locked away."  
"O..okay. I'm coming with you."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Jarod asked.  
Parker said nothing as she pulled him up an unlit, spiral stair case.  
"Isn't this where the VIP rooms are?"  
"Shh.."

Inside the room, the lights remained dim, their bodies became silhouettes, merging as wildly, blindingly as both realities. Clothes were shed in a mad rush, fueled by alcohol and his mind's creation. Parker on her knees, where he'd always wanted her.  
_**No. No Jarod. Wrong. This is wrong. Please don't do this.**_

He remained standing while delicious little sounds echoed through the room, his mind. "Oh fuck." He mumbled. **_Wrong. This is wrong. I don't use that kind of language. Yeah, genius boy, you don't accept blow jobs from your huntress either and incidentally, she doesn't give blow jobs. Classy. Never slutty._**

She'd live a lonely life since Thomas. No one. A life as dull as a nun's.

And the music drifted upstairs, filled their room, the thump of speakers, the bass pulsating just as his member was, in her mouth, and then one of his hands clamped down on the back of her head, pulling her deeper onto the length of him. The sounds deeper as she struggled to breathe, her gasps enticing him, driving him on to something bigger, something amazing, something far too good to be true.

His other hand wound around her neck, fingers sinking in, a single wordless warning. Bite and die.

A handful of hair. He yanked her away and shoved her onto the floor.

**_This is all wrong._**

She was on her knees, still there. A hand around her neck, face down on the floor, the other hand forcing her hips, her arse up, a knee shoving those killer legs apart. The hand on her neck tightened. Move and die. Scream and die. Fight. Die.

The other hand between her legs, two fingers finding themselves pushing into a soft, heavenly warmness, wetness.  
She gasped. The fingers on the other hand sank into her neck.

Forcefully, rapidly, entering, withdrawing. Roughly. He wanted to hurt her the way she had hurt him, the way she had always intentionally hurt him. **_The bitch! The fucking bitch! Daddy's little whore!_**

_NO!_**_ No. You don't want to hurt her. You would never do that!_**  
**_But that guy back in the renewal wing..._**

"Fuck me." She gasped out. "Fuck me Jarod."

And he did. Driving into her forcefully. Her face still held to the floor, both hands wrapped around her neck. He found his fingers were drifting elsewhere. Somewhere tighter. Easily accessible from his position, taking her from behind this way.

"Yes." She could barely breathe and was begging for ass action.

**_She doesn't use that kind of language. Classy. Not trashy. Only when really angered and upset would she drop the "F" bomb. Ass action? Never. She wasn't one of those anal babes. But this sub-par Miss Parker, this unreal woman, wanted some unreal, out of this world fucking._**

He would oblige.  
Even as his mind wondered for just a brief moment as two fingers pushed deeper into her ass:**_ I wonder what *she's* doing._**  
More resistance than he expected. She screamed as another finger was added. The scream died into a raspy, choked gasp.  
He tightened his grip on her neck.  
"Yes!" She cried.

Then, the world shifted. The floor was no longer carpeting, the music had died, the VIP room had faded, the lights were on, including the eight red flickering lights. Cameras.

She was screaming something, kicking at him.

"Shut up!" He was yelling, and suddenly, he became disoriented in this environment. He had never cared much for renewal. **Renewal.** They fry your mind, leave it blank, and send you on your way as if nothing unpleasant had ever happened. But Jarod was NEVER sent on his merry way after-wards. And he wouldn't be this time and neither would Parker. He would remember, she would remember. They never let him forget his wrongs, his crimes.

Her clothes appeared to have been shredded but he hadn't quite managed to take off her long suit jacket. The skirt however was un-salvageable, scattered cloth covered every inch of the cell. Two remnants of what once had been a very nice, very short black skirt was now tightly tied around her wrists, which were in turn, tied to the bars of the cell.  
How did this happen? And just what the hell happened...exactly?

She was on her back. His hands firmly closed around her neck. So tiny, so perfect. There was a stream of wetness from her mouth, down her chin, her breasts.

He became erect - again - at just the notion. Straddling her, she struggled but didn't scream. Oh but he wanted that mouth to open. Pulling a nipple in between his fingers and clamping down...ah yes, that did the trick. He shoved himself, to the hilt and felt her throat constricting. Heaven.  
But the smell, the smell of her lured him lower, down between her legs.

"Don't do this, please."

Useless.  
His tongue traced her clitoris then shifted, tasting her sweetness, delving his tongue inside her.  
A finger entered her while his tongue worked her clit over, up and down and again.  
She kicked and struggled.  
Waste of energy.

The finger left her opening, traced lower, lower, to her ass. The sweet ass. Circling, circling, pressing.  
Playing and prodding.

"Stop!"

**_This isn't real. It couldn't be._**

And so, he continued. Reality was back in the VIP room of that club in London. She had seduced him, begged him to be rough, screamed for pain.  
**_But this, no, this isn't real._**  
He felt he would explode when two fingers were buried in each long untouched space. Delicious. She was delicious. And so tight. He ran his tongue over her clit again, over and over. His tongue occasionally drifting lower, to her sweetness, to her sweet ass.  
"You're going to come bitch."  
She shook her head.  
"Oh yes."  
And the tongue was back, feverishly assaulting her clitoris, sucking and licking like his life depended on it.  
Finally, he felt her body constricting, bearing down on the finger inside her.  
She kicked harder, screamed no.  
"Yes. Oh yes. You're coming." He lapped up every drop of her as if he were thirsting to death.  
Moments later, she was still.  
He removed the finger and slid up her body, covered her mouth with his.  
"No." She attempted to turn her head.  
Hands clasped around her neck.  
"The Centre whore gets what she wants. This is what you've always wanted."  
And with that, he entered her, mercilessly.

A scream echoed through his mind.  
"Daddy's...little...uh...whore..." He gritted angrily with each thrust, coming quickly inside her.

Collapsed on her, he felt himself being pulled off.

"That's enough for today."  
"Lyle." Jarod whispered absently, dazed.

Give him the injection.  
"Injection." Jarod repeated.  
"You'll snap out of it." Lyle replied then turned to the sweepers. "Bring in the medical cart and an exam table."  
"Here boss? I thought we'd take them to the infirmary..."  
"Do it!" Lyle yelled then stared down at his twin sister. She wasn't moving, there were no tears. Her eyes were closed but he knew she wasn't sleeping. Yes. I will have my turn with you after you're pregnant. Lyle smiled sinisterly then exited the cell.

Jarod was injected and as coherent thought returned, five words came to his mind: God, what have I done?


	4. Conquered

Absolute shock. Jarod's body shook horribly, he struggled against the wrenching in his guts, thankful that he'd been denied food and water on the flight to Blue Cove. Jarod's gratitude ended there however.

What have I done?  
"What have I done?" He whimpered tearfully. The whimpers becoming louder when he saw the stains on his hands. Blood. Blood on his hands. Hers. No. Not this. A billion scenarios had played out in his brain over the years but never this one. Never. His blood on her hands? Why yes. Of course. But this. No. His mind rewound to another time, not very long ago, another place, another scenario. Blood. Hers. Staining his hands. The tarmac, the bullet she'd taken for Mr. Parker. He had tried to save her, only to discover that he couldn't even save himself but the stains had remained, served as a reminder. Sam had pressure washed Parker's blood from Jarod's hands. This was different, wrong. This time, Jarod had inflicted the damage.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my..." And then he grabbed up some composure. If there's this much blood on my hands, her blood on my hands then...  
His head snapped around to the other victim in the cell. I have to help her.

He stared at the form on the floor. Unmoving. She was still tied to the bars of the cell. Her wrists obviously injured, the bloodied fabric embedded deep beyond the epidermis. Blood covered her hands and arms and he wasn't sure if there was more than one source of bleeding. And he wasn't sure that he wanted to investigate further. But he had no choice. He was her only hope, possibly the only person that stood between her life and her...no. I'll never let her die.

He chocked on bile as he crawled towards her, a fear so gripping that it prevented him from drawing breath. She's dead. I've killed her. He moved to untie her wrists.

Parker suddenly sprang to life, kicking, thrashing wildly. And screaming at him.  
"I have to." He whimpered, forced more composure upon himself. "Shh.. it's alright. I'm going to help you."  
She was showing no sign of calming.

"It's alright, it's alright." A lie whispered soothingly as Jarod took inventory of the supplies which had been brought in. No sedatives.  
"Lyle!" Jarod yelled angrily. "I need sedatives, anything you have!'  
There was no response, no acknowledgment whatsoever. "Damn you! I need sedatives. Please! Please! Please!"

He chose a vial of morphine, hoped that it would alleviate the worst of her suffering. His unsteady hands worked to hold the syringe, prepare the dose. His mind already thinking ahead to the next step. He'd have to physically hold her still to prevent the needle from snapping off.

Why hadn't I forced her to listen, to run, to leave me alone?

The answer didn't matter anyway, not now.

"I'm going to give you an injection. Morphine to-"  
"N-no! S-s-stay!" She screamed with all the coherency she could manage but was unable to complete the request.  
"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He whispered tearfully as he shifted, pinned her with his weight, trying not to inflict further injury, physical or otherwise, as she bucked and fought, cried and cursed him. Jarod emptied the contents of the syringe and shifted back onto the floor.  
Her body continued to fight, convulsed. It was agonizing to observe, to see her broken this way, to know that he had caused this.

Jarod began taking note of every bruise, every laceration, each injury he'd caused and then he prepared the supplies accordingly. The wrists would need sutures. Fifteen, possibly more. Her elbow appeared to be badly bruised, the arm above possibly fractured and as the memory slowly came filtering into his mind, he could see her struggling, could see the back of her head, she was face down, her elbow pinned behind her back, his body weight holding her, tying each wrist. That would also explain the scrapes and bruises littered across her face as well as the mild abrasions along her entire body. His mind held him in the past, his body on hers, the grip on the back of her neck as he tore through every shred of resistance her body had offered.

He couldn't suppress the sob that tore loose from his throat, his own screams joining hers in the damp, stale air.

Her movements slowed, the hoarse screams of terror quietened. The drug, coupled with exhaustion finally began to wear her down.

Both condemned to a fate worse than death, the bowels of hell, he succumbed to grief, all his hopes, dreams dissolved to tears. He and Parker both were now mere possessions, the property of the Centre. And it was uphill climb from here, though really, it was useless to fight.

When she was still again, Jarod caught his breath, moved slowly, cautiously stealing a glance at her as he did. Jarod untied her wrists, gathered her into his arms and lifted her onto the exam table. He then began cleaning the scrapes scattered across her body. She flinched once, then became still, only silently crying, her body shaking slightly as the the tears slipped past tightly clenched eyelids to stream down the sides of her face, past her ears and onto the exam table beneath her.

He pretended it all away as he cleaned, sutured and bandaged. She was some cruel sex offender's victim, some woman he'd never met. But this couldn't be Miss Parker and she could not be his victim. Never his victim.

Moving slowly, he realized when he placed her left foot into the stirrup that he'd need the shackles and restraints after all. She was flailing wildly again, and the struggled increased ten fold when he began to attach the soft restraints. They were barely enough against her thrashing but there was no shortage of restraints. This was the Centre after all.

The feet were placed in stirrups, shackled. He then reached for the gloves, put them on quickly, wanting to get this over with for her benefit. The sobbing and screaming continued, making the task at hand all the more difficult for him.

Her thighs were covered with superficial wounds, scratches, finger nail indentations, the few internal tears wouldn't require sutures. But she'd need a follow up examination to ensure that she was indeed healing, that there was no sign of infection. Damn it. He tossed the speculum and the pen light into a garbage bad to get them out of her sight should she happen to look up. By now, she'd finally given up the fight, succumbed to her fate. Eyes squeezed tightly, the tears slipped through her eye lashes. She was perfectly still, aside from the silent sobs that shook her body, the gasps of pain and shock at each intrusion. It was difficult to believe that this very woman had pistol whipped him less than twelve hours earlier, a portrait of calm and coolness, she'd always felt like she was in control though she'd never been and now, she knew it, the fact had been confirmed now. Life as she knew it was over, and the little control she'd had was all gone.

Jarod tossed the gloves aside, gathered up every towel and blanket he could find and placed them on the small bare mattress in the right corner of the cell and tried his best to ensure that she'd be comfortable once there. He then returned to Parker, still sobbing quietly, her eyes still refusing to open. Undoing the restraints carefully, he gently covered her with a blanket, gathered her into his arms and lowered her onto the pitiful excuse for a bed.

She immediately scurried away, towards the wall, as far as she could get from him, all the while her throat forming sounds, sounds of fear, pain. It sickened him. He crouched down, backed away. He turned towards the cell, pressed his face against the bars. It was as far away as he could get from her. And he wasn't certain it would be far enough.

Hours passed, or so he guessed. He had turned his head just enough so that he could see her in his peripheral. She had finally settled onto her side, though obviously she was in pain and every time she dozed off, she immediately whimpered or screamed and jerked awake.

The stains remained on his hands. There wasn't enough water and soap in the world to ever undo this misdeed.

Lyle was going to pay for this. Now, rather than later. Jarod couldn't wait to exact his revenge. He rushed to the medical supplies, quickly located the morphine and a syringe.  
You son of a bitch, stupid son of a bitch, you think you can control me. You can't. You won't hurt her again to get to me, not because of me. Never!  
He filled the syringe, a lethal dose. Jarod smiled. I won't have to face her now, she won't have to see me. Yes. The answer to both their problems.  
Jarod thrust the needle into his arm and then watched in awe as the syringe went flying across the room.  
"You weren't thinking of abandoning Miss Parker now were you, Jarod? Willie, get the syringe and remove all of the supplies."  
"Sedatives. Please, Lyle."  
"No, Jarod. You did this, now you must fix it."  
"Bastard!" Jarod lunged for the man but was restrained by two sweepers.  
Lyle smiled then turned to Parker, lying lifelessly on the bed. "I'm not usually one for sloppy leftovers but I am really looking forward to having her when you're done."  
"When I'm done?"  
Dr. Cox sauntered into cell.  
"That's right."  
"Cox." The name left a bad taste in Jarod's mouth.  
"We want our little pretender first."  
"You people disgust me."  
"Careful Jarod. You are one of us now."  
"No. I'm not."  
Cox knelt beside the mattress, a syringe in his hand.  
"Get away from her!" Jarod yelled.  
"I will. As soon as I draw some blood. She could be with child right now. Imagine, Jarod, the miracle of life, cell division. It could be happening now."  
"You bastard!"  
"Jarod, you can't be that surprised. The rape of Catherine Parker which resulted in our half brother, the frying of Timmy's brains which resulted in Angelo, the murder of Catherine Parker, the murder of Thomas Gates, cloning you, the attempt on Mr. Parker's life. It just goes on and on. This was the next eventual step. We don't have Ethan or the clone. And we may not always have you. But we will the child."  
"On my life, you're going to pay! You will all pay for this!"  
"No. We've won." Lyle smiled. "Dr. Cox and I will leave you two for now. When will she be ready again?"  
"What?" Jarod asked.  
"If the test is negative. Tomorrow? Two days?"  
"A month. Maybe longer."  
"That's no good for me. Or the Centre."  
"Well you should have thought about that before you drugged me and..."  
Lyle interrupted.  
"You're right. Next time, we won't drug you. I'll hold a gun to her head and you will perform."  
"Perform?"  
"You're a genius. Figure it out. She has five days to... recover."  
The cell shut with a bang.  
"Oh. It looks like her wrists are bleeding again. I'll have the suture kit returned. No more drugs for big sissy."

Jarod turned to see Parker lying on her side, pulling the sutures out, digging into her wrists with her fingernails.

He approached cautiously, was halfway to her when a clatter caused him to turn. The suture kit landed at his feet.  
Jarod gathered it up and continued towards her, expecting a fight. But she was fresh out of fight. She cowered, flinched at every touch, every word but she didn't dare fight.

"You are not going to do this to yourself. You're going to survive. Do you hear me?" He whispered. "I'm going to get you out of here. Even if it kills me. I swear to you. I swear."

"P-p-p-please..." Her eyes still squeezed closed, she half stuttered, half sobbed out the only word she could force from her hoarse throat.

He knew what she wanted. Just kill me. Kill me. Let me die. Just let me bleed out. All you have to do is... nothing. Do nothing, Jarod. For once, don't help.

"No. There is life after this, there is. You're going to be alright. I promise."


	5. Contabescent

The atrocities Jarod had suffered, witnessed and directly caused were innumerable but they'd all paled in comparison with what happened sixteen hours ago. He'd spent each second since contemplating everything, soul searching. When he wasn't praying, he was attempting to convince her to eat or at least drink but had been unsuccessful.

Dropping to his knees once more, he prayed, sobbed, screamed to a God that he had never been able to prove existed, other than the fact that Miss Parker had come into his world all those years ago. She had brightened his life and was the last hope, the only proof he had that there was some higher power.

Jarod meditated, searched for comfort. He longed for absolution, for escape, but not his escape this time. Her escape. If God existed then surely he would show some mercy and perform his miracle and restore Jarod's belief in humanity by restoring Miss Parker to complete Ice Queen status, give her the strength to fight, escape, recover from this ordeal and live her life as best she could.

Even though Jarod knew that she'd never really been all ice, he wished she would be. He wished she'd rise up from that mattress and beat him to death. But alas, the mask she'd once worn had been nothing more than a false wall which housed a terrified little girl who missed her mother and craved affection from a heartless beast.

If Miss Parker had noticed Jarod's contrition, his confessions, his days spent on bended knees, she never acknowledged, never showed a sign. Jarod reckoned she only wanted to disappear and if she could be quiet and be still and keep her eyes close, Lyle would forget she was there, or she would, at least, forget she was there and who was with her.

The hours passed in pale gray depression, emptiness.

She hadn't cried out in some time, no nightmares, no writhing in pain, and no sobbing. Jarod found some comfort in that and believed there was an all merciful being out there after all. Jarod then thanked this being, thanked the deity and continued to pray, putting all his belief in something intangible, something he couldn't see, feel, or hear and believing too that the all powerful being would give him the strength he'd need to help her thrive once again.

He didn't know what day it was for sure. He didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't drink a sip of water. It was easy to lose all focus, hope. It would have been easy to lay down and die. But he couldn't do that until he knew that she would survive this, that she would go on and go free and one day smile again and live again.  
His mind floated aimlessly as he knelt by the cell door. When he drifted back to awareness, he searched the cell, found her where he'd left her. She hadn't so much as moved.

By Jarod's best estimates, which were reached by counting untouched food trays, and unopened bottles of water placed near the slot opening of the cell, it had been nearly two days since he'd so viciously attacked her. The foul stench from the spoiled food permeated through the cell, turned his stomach. He prayed for forgiveness again, prayed for her again and then curled up and sobbed and continued to send up prayers for her.

He felt just as dirty, used and numb as she did. He would have never done those things to her. He'd been forced. Essentially, they'd both been assaulted by the Centre. Nevertheless, he had to get some fluids into her, he had to convince her to eat the food that was ushered down on stainless steel trays. So he prayed for courage and strength to do what he needed to do to force her to survive and he prayed that she wouldn't begin that horrible sobbing again or struggle to escape him when it was useless to do so.

Finally, he stood, went to her with a glass bottle filled with water.  
"Miss Parker." She didn't respond. "Miss Parker, if you don't eat or drink, Lyle will come back in here." Jarod dropped to a crouch beside her. "I'm going to sit you up and help you drink some water." He realized that she must think him a monster and he was beginning to think it was true and with that in mind, he decided to be that person.

He had begged her to drink when he wasn't praying but none of the gentler tactics had worked, so, with no other choice, he tearfully sighed then became hard as stone.

"You're going to drink!" He yelled and moved quickly to gather her head and shoulders and wedge himself to where her head had been. He raised her, held her in his arms. It was evident in the way she tensed and became rigid that she was fully awake and aware. "I advise you not to fight me. You already know that you'll never win." He raised the bottle, poured the water into her mouth and she began struggling, coughing. Jarod forcefully clamped her jaw shut, forcing her to swallow the liquid. He repeated this over and over throughout the day but every time, the result was the same. No sooner than he'd walk away to pray, she'd hang her head over the mattress and vomit every drop of water. Jarod felt that she was losing more fluid than she was receiving.

Still, he prayed and believed that some mighty, gentle, merciful hand would reach down from above and heal her of this misery and prevent her from wasting away.

More food trays were pushed into the tray slot. Another day passed. He attempted to feed her without success, attempted to give her more water. The same results. Bits of food decorated the mattress as they struggled, there was coughing, gagging. And then, she'd lean over the mattress and vomit.

If she was going to starve or die of dehydration, he was as well. Jarod had already vowed not to take a bite or drink even a sip of water until she showed progress but there was no progress. They were both slowly dying. Jarod at least had some advantage. He'd always had a hearty appetite, had eaten a large quantity of food and drank his fill of milk, root beer floats, and water just prior to leaving the club.

But Miss Parker had apparently not had much, if anything, to eat or drink prior to his capture as she had not used the toilet in the corner of the cell or soiled the mattress. She'd fallen into this hell already mostly dehydrated and had always eaten very little. Jarod had already screamed at the cameras, screamed at the top of his lungs for Lyle to help her but her brother had been absent for some time.

Another day passed, and then another, both similar to all the days since their capture. She was weaker, paler. She was dying.

On his knees again, he looked up at the drab ceiling and cried to only one left who could help either of them.

"Please! Please, God, help her. Please!" He begged, then decided to offer himself as a sacrifice. "Please, God, please, take me. Take me and let her live. Please! Take me instead!" He cried, waited. Nothing. He decided to confess, display his deepest regrets and hoped that would convince God. "Please forgive me, God." Jarod whispered. "I've murdered, I've done horrible things and now I've hurt her..."

"Confession time just ended." Lyle's voice broke through Jarod's sorrowful prayers.  
"Lyle, thank God." Jarod whispered. "She's been unresponsive for hours."  
"And you're thanking "God?" Lyle asked, befuddled.  
Jarod watched as the cell was flooded with activity, sweepers, hospital beds.  
"What is all this?"  
"Oh, it's the divine Intervention you ordered." Lyle sniggered.  
"Thank you, Lyle. Please hurry, help you."  
"I'm going to help you both. I don't need either of you getting sick on me and you both need some nourishment." Lyle laughed. "You too, Jarod. And not just your soul. I hope you're not getting delusional on me, Jarod. I mean. come on! God? Aren't you a little old to believe in such nonsense and magic? What's next, huh? Easter Bunny? Santa? Tooth fairy?"

"You can take my freedom and my life, you can control me but you can't control my thoughts, you can't take my faith."  
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about_ that_, just wait until this is over. I'm betting that you'll change your mind." Lyle chortled. "In addition to some _real_ nourishment and vitamins, I'm also going to give you two fluids. I'm going to give my sister some IV antibiotics, and fertility drugs, of course."  
"She's not pregnant, then. Good." Jarod muttered to himself.

"Oh, it's not so good for her. If at first you don't succeed, Jarod, you **will** try, try and try yet again."  
"You bastard!"  
"Watch it, Jarod."  
"Or what?"

Jarod was suddenly grabbed by sweepers, restrained to a bed, hard restraints and shackles and then stabbed with needles. IV lines were hooked up and then he watched as Parker was carried to a bed and similarly treated.  
"Sir!" One of the medical techs alerted Lyle. "She's burning up and unresponsive!"  
"Miss Parker!" Jarod yelled. "Lyle, get her to a hospital or she'll die-"  
"Shut up, Jarod!" Lyle raced to his sister's side. "She's probably faking it!" But she didn't move at all or even flinch when Lyle slapped her.  
"She's not faking, Lyle. God, please! Get her to a hospital."  
Suddenly, Lyle's eyes narrowed as the idea formed in his mind. He climbed onto his sister's body and immediately, she began whimpering and writhing.  
"Looks responsive enough to me." Lyle laughed. "Not quite ready for Hollywood just yet, but maybe next time, huh, sis?" Lyle licked her face, then rolled off her. "See you two lovebirds, later."

The traffic slowly streamed out of the cell and one again, all was quiet.


	6. Conception

The weeks of "divine intervention" passed painfully slow and while Parker improved physically, Jarod feared that the psychological impact would leave her in an eternal state of disrepair and that was before he learned the details of Lyle's ulterior motives and what role Lyle was going to force him to play in his ghastly incestuous endeavors.

Before any of those things could come to pass, Jarod discovered that Lyle was serious about a little genius offspring. Two red files plus an inner sense equaled more money than Lyle could throw a stick at. The hands=on approach was more successful than insemination and even if it wasn't, Lyle was pleased to see his twin suffer. That alone made it all worth it.

Jarod heard the gates slide open. He knew they were coming, but could only lie still and await the inevitable.  
They didn't even remove her IV lines or even look at her. The two man walked right past her and then snatched Jarod from the bed.

"Drop them!" Lyle yelled.  
"What are.."  
"The pants, labrat!"  
"No. Lyle. She's.."  
"Fine. For now."  
The bastard lifted the blankets off his restrained sister, yanked her restrained legs forward and up into stirrups and he added more shackles to keep her in place. "But that could all change."

"Lyle. Please." Jarod begged tearfully.  
Lyle grinned the ultimate shit eating grin and slipped his fingers menacingly against Parker's skin. "See the thighs, Jarod? Look? See those old scars?"  
"Healed lacerations?" Jarod's brow knotted. "She's a cutter."  
"Some of the scars date back to childhood. Do you concur, doctor?"  
Jarod nodded.  
"She wanted love, I bet, and affection." Lyle chuckled. "Those things have no place in our lives." Lyle added.

"Physical pain to kill the emotional loss...emotional pain." Jarod whispered.

"Come here, Jarod. Come and love her."  
"Not like this, Lyle."  
"Do it!" Lyle yelled, slicing her leg open with his finger nails as he did.

"If you don't love her, I will." Jarod watched in confusion as a strange apparatus was placed in Parker's mouth, an object which held her mouth completely wide open. It dawned on him what it was for. She couldn't bite down or close her mouth but a person could insert something inside the large opening of the apparatus.  
Jarod needed only one guess as to what that something would be.

"Lyle." Jarod vomited the name.  
Lyle glanced at one of the medical techs.  
"How long since you gave it to him?"  
"One hour, sir. Just as you instructed."  
"What? What did you give me?"  
"A powerful stimulant, Jarod, and it ought to be kicking in right around..now."  
"Oh my God. How could do this?"  
"You have what you need now, Jarod. And when I'm finished with you, you won't need help achieving or maintaining erections. Now be a good rat and climb up here."  
"No. No!" Jarod screamed. "I can't do this to her!"

Lyle grabbed the IV line and twisted it around his sister's neck, and began sloppily kissing her.  
"Stop! You can't do this."  
"I can do this and much more."  
A despondent Parker still pretending to be asleep, even with her mouth forced uncomfortably open, began gurgling, gasping as the cord tightened around her neck.  
Lyle upped the ante by unzipping his pants, pulling out his erect member and thrusting into her open, gasping mouth.  
"Are you going to let her die?" Lyle yelled.  
"God! God!" Jarod screamed the most blood curdling scream, his blood ice in his veins. "Okay!"  
The concession finally gave Parker cause to scream a muffled, strangled no.  
"I'm.." He knew how pathetic it was going to sound. "So sorry. I am so sorry but you can't die." He whispered. "Life will get better. I swear." Such a beautiful lie. Jarod turned back again to look at Lyle.  
"Problem?" Lyle asked.  
"I don't want to hurt her."  
"Better use your imagination then, rat."  
Parker was trying to kick, struggling in the restraints but bound so tightly she couldn't move an inch.  
"She doesn't want me to do that.."  
"I don't care what either of you want!" Lyle's hands closed around Parker's neck as she continued to gasp and jerk and cough with no hope of ending the torment.

Jarod was on the foot stool at the end of the bed, trying to decide if it would best to simply do the deed without further humiliating her but before a decision could be made, his head was forcefully thrust forward. With the decision made, his tongue found her clitoris, circled over and over, and using his saliva to lubricate her as best he could before they were forced to proceed with the more painful dis-pleasantries.

"Do it. Now!" Lyle yelled between grunts.  
Jarod found himself yanked up and over her body. He whispered his promise to not hurt her but that angered Lyle who realized that Jarod was giving her only the tip. That would never do. So Lyle motioned to the sweepers who came behind Jarod, and shoved him to the hilt inside Parker. "If you're going to do it, rat, do it right!"  
Since pain was unavoidable, the only other comfort he could offer her was a quick ending to this hell, as if the hell would ever end.  
Lyle grunted as he wrapped both hands around his twin's neck tightly and thrust himself deeper down her throat, not caring that she was gagging and choking.

"I can't...this, can't do this to her, Lyle. I have to...Oh my God...I can't..." Jarod found himself being subdued by three sweepers.  
"Uh." Jarod grunted. "I can't. Please, God!" He grunted. "Oohh."

"Ahh, fuck! Grrr." Lyle gave one last thrust, clamped her necked tightly, forced her head further onto his erection and shuddered as he came in her mouth.

Jarod felt his own release building, it was only a matter of time. It was wrong. It was so wrong. He didn't know why but he wound his hands under her torso, up her back, and pulled her closer. He came inside her, a gripping climax, during which he forgot himself and found himself kissing her, despite her protests. He then collapsed on her, still gasping and then, he began sobbing.

She cried silent tears, never opening her eyes.  
"I'm sorry, I'm so.." Jarod whispered.  
"Cut the crap, Jarod!" Lyle snatched Jarod off, the sweepers held both of Jarod's arms. "Stop treating her like a lady. You said yourself she's the Centre whore." Lyle punched Jarod twice, the kicked him in the stomach. "Put the restraints on him and give him the spinal tap. He can't run if he can't feel his legs."  
"No. Lyle, no!"

There two more similar "sessions" each week for two months until the news came two months later. Success at last.

"Good news, you two." Lyle announced.  
"She's pregnant." Jarod said sadly.  
"Yes."  
"So this will all stop."  
"Now, I wouldn't get you used to all this and then take it away from you. No. Now the fun really begins. And I get to have fun, too."  
"Lyle. If you do this, I will kill you."  
"Oh, so only you get to rape my sister? That seems unfair since..."  
"I didn't have a choice. You were going to kill her if..."  
"I was never going to kill her."  
"Bastard." Jarod sobbed. "You'll all pay even if I use my last breath to kill you."

"And I can still kill her and your baby. Now, let's have some fun. You look like an ass man to me, or you did at least when you were fucking her in the ass."  
"I was drugged."  
"You won't be this time. But first, I going to give her something. I want her to scream my name while we fuck her."  
"No! You can't do this!"  
"Yes." Lyle snapped his fingers and a balding medical tech came in with an insanely large needle. "I can. Don't worry, dad.." Lyle spoke to Jarod. "It won't hurt the baby."

A baby. My baby. Jarod began sobbing, praying. "And one more thing before we proceed." Lyle grinned as he attached a device between Parker's legs. "Forced orgasms." Lyle smiled. "I'm going to train her brain to enjoy this stimulation, to enjoy the feel of us both inside her."  
"Don't do this!" Jarod was screaming.

Please, God!  
Surely, Sydney knew they were there, surely, he and Broots had gone to the authorities and surely someone would come to their rescue but he was slowly losing all hope.


	7. Callous

Jarod didn't exactly expect anything less than evil of Lyle, a man who'd actually made a hobby out of raping women, killing them slowly as they reached climax and then consuming their organs. Still, the slimy son of a bitch was somehow able to sink lower and lower.

Parker was pregnant with a super pretender but that wasn't enough. He'd also wanted to possess her and now he was going to and Jarod wasn't going to only witness the acts, he was going to join.

When it was over, he could only remember the ghastly scenes in flashes. Parker's shackled body placed on his and entering her on demand. Lyle yelled for Jarod to shut her up or he'd hurt her, so Jarod did, he wound his hands around her head, pulled her mouth down to his. Then suddenly, something felt different. His penis felt constricted in her vagina, his own penis was sliding against another penis. Lyle's. Parker's her muffled groans of agony grew louder. "No, Lyle!" Jarod was screaming as he held his hand over her mouth.  
But Lyle didn't stop. He had penetrated her and wasn't going to stop until he was satisfied.

"Too tight." Lyle hissed, extracted himself.  
Jarod suddenly felt her tense and her fierce struggling increased a hundred percent. Again, his penis was constricted but this was different. There was another penis but it was in her ass this time.

Jarod still recalled Lyle winding an arm around Parker's neck, his fingers reaching around and filling her mouth. Lyle's other arm was under her body, he was squeezing her breast, lifting her up so her upper body and breasts were hovering over Jarod, instead of pressed against him. Lyle was pulling her in to each thrust, pushing his fingers deeper into her mouth. Jarod thought she looked so beautiful from where he lay beneath her as he gazed up at her, even as her saliva rained down upon him.

Lyle thrust harder into her, whispering, "Come on baby, come for Lyle." Jarod could see Lyle's lips kissing her jaw as they both thrust into her body. Jarod found himself completely turned on by her, by the nipples hardening under Lyle's touch, feeling envious, Jarod lifted his head up off the bed and placed his mouth over her nipple. "That's it, Jarod." Lyle urged him on.  
"She's getting wetter. Aren't you, Parker? Yes, baby. Oh, yes." The forced orgasm apparatus was on full speed and she was going to come, yet again. Jarod began to feel possessive. He couldn't help it. His hands were pulling at her shoulders, pulling her closer, grasping at her breasts and suckling at her nipples, while Lyle continued possessing Parker ass.  
The painful grunting grew louder, louder and both men knew that she was close and somehow that pushed them over the edge. Finally, all was quite.

Jarod was gripped from his memory by Lyle's appearance.  
"What do you want?" Jarod growled. "What are you going to do to her?"  
"Kiss me, sis, yes, that's my girl."  
"Lyle!"  
"Cox will be joining Willie and myself in just a moment. It's time for her exam. And yours."  
"Mine?"  
"We expect you to resume your sims, Jarod and we want you to be in tip top shape."  
"And what if I refuse."  
"Parker will be placed in a coma until our Pretender is born."  
"And then?"  
"And then, we'll kill her. Willie help Jarod to his feet."  
"What are you going to do, Lyle?"  
"My sister needs an examination and some routine procedures for today's activities."  
"Such as?"  
"A colonic."  
"Why?"  
"There are practical medical purposes, Jarod. Now do it!"  
"Me?"  
"Yes. Lyle rolled a large cart towards Parker's bed.  
Parker immediately began squirming and grunting, screaming and trying to get away.  
"Try to relax." Jarod advised her as he inserted the tube into her ass. "Just relax." He whispered as she screamed.  
"Please, try to relax." He stood beside her when the hose was positioned in place and the water was entering her. Jarod tried to comfort her, light circles on her shoulder. She screamed louder then.

The procedure lasted well over an hour. After wards, Jarod was hauled away and shackled on his back on the bed.

"Willie, place Jarod's feet into the stirrups."  
"No!" Jarod screamed. "No, Lyle. You can't do this! Hey...no! What is that?" Jarod snapped angrily when he felt a gloved finger near his thigh. "No!"  
Jarod felt his penis being fondled. "NO! " He screamed.  
"No!" He cried as his member slid back and forth through latex lubed fingers.

Jarod watched from across the room as Lyle spread Parker's ass cheeks wide open.  
"MMMMM" Lyle hummed. "Look at that spread. All mine."  
"Get away from her!" Jarod yelled. "Oh god." Jarod groaned. "No!" Jarod suddenly shrieked as he felt his own ass being massaged, he felt his buttocks being spread further. "God." He cried. "Please Lyle, don't let them do this!"

Jarod felt a hard plastic tubing enter him. He shook and gasped and cried.  
"Please!" Jarod cried. "What are you doing? Why are you doing this to me?"

"It's just a routine colonic, wonder boy. Just like you gave my sis. Never had one, have you? Well, a first time for everything. We have to perform a rectal examination but first we want to empty your bowels."  
"It hurts." Jarod screamed in agony, then huffed and gasped desperately. "Stop!" Jarod screamed, gasped, screamed, whimpered. "Please!" He struggled against the restraints.

He felt the tubing enter further, past the tight ring of his ass.  
"Please! AAAhhh." He grunted. "STOP!" Jarod screamed as tears poured down his face.  
"Time for the water. Warm water. It will feel so nice."  
"No!" Jarod pouted. "Please!" Jarod felt the warm liquid enter him, so strange, almost pleasant but painful.  
"Try to relax, Jarod. Isn't that what you told Parker." Lyle asked as he licked his sister's ass. "Delicious."

"Oh!"

The ordeal lasted well over an hour. Pure torment.

When it ended, Jarod was repositioned onto his stomach. He watched as Lyle rolled Parker's bed towards him. Her bed would have overlapped but was lowered and brought closer so that Jarod had full access to her body.  
Parker had been shackled face down, her ass perched in the air and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move from the undignified position. "Look at this ass, Jarod." Lyle spread her buttocks with his hands and teased. "Taste her."  
Jarod needed only to poke his tongue out and caress her ass.  
"Delicious, isn't she? Lyle whispered. "Do you want me to keep her open for you? Don't you want to finger her ass, Jarod? If you don't, I'll just have to fuck her myself."  
Jarod felt his cock being massaged again, and then a gloved and lubed finger probing gently at his ass. "Make them stop! Please!" He felt his own ass exposed, his buttocks spread open by big hands. He jumped and tightened his ass when he felt warm spit land right on his opening.  
"NO!" Jarod yelled, he cried. "Please, don't." He sobbed.

Without much more coaxing, Jarod began doing to Parker the very things that were being done to him. Lyle kissed her vagina, sucking and licking on her clit while Jarod busied himself with her ass, all the while his cock and ass were being licked and manipulated.

"Watch this." Lyle whispered. He located a vibrator, slowly buried it into her ass while he sucked on her clit.  
"Oooh, you like that don't you Jarod."  
"No. Please." Jarod felt Willie add another finger to his ass.  
"OHHH! God, god! Please! Stop! Stop!"  
"Bring her bed closer!" Lyle snapped at a sweeper and with the man's assistance, repositioned Parker to give Jarod greater access.  
Jarod focused on his penis, the great feeling of the friction but suddenly, there was movement. Willie was straddling him. "NO!"

"Shh, relax Jarod. Just relax baby." Lyle's tongue reached out for Jarod's at the apex of Parker's ass. Lyle grasped Jarod's head, probed his mouth deeply, all while Jarod tried to fight. Jarod felt the tip of Willie's cock, the cold condom he'd be forever grateful for. Willie penetrated him, felt resistance, pulled back with his hips. Jarod howled when Willie thrust forward, burying every inch of cock in Jarod's ass. "No! Oh god." Jarod gasped and screamed, he struggled to breathe through the searing fire that ripped through his ass as he was torn open by Wilie's large cock.  
"Focus on your cock, feel the pressure building, Jarod."  
"NO!" Jarod howled in pain. Willie grabbed Jarod's hips, pulled him back deeper on to his engorged cock. "GOD!"  
Willie reached around, placed both hands around Jarod's eyes and mouth, inserting several fingers into Jarod's mouth as he moved. With a grunt, Willie thrust deeper than ever, using Jarod's head and face as leverage. "Fuck yes." Willie gasped. "Yes. bitch."  
Jarod saw red at being called another man's bitch.

Speaking of bitch, he said to himself. What about the bitch who'd hauled his ass to the Centre? I'll show her.  
Jarod grasped her hips, yanked her towards him and forced his way into her ass, to the hilt. One hand dug into her hip, the other reached around to her face to muffle her cries. "Shut up you fucking bitch." He thrust three fingers down her throat, listened to her gagging. He was going to come with a cock rammed up his ass, despite the pain that was well beyond definition. And she was going to come as well, courtesy of the forced orgasm apparatus affixed to her clit. The hand on her hip moved up to her neck. He tightened his hand around her neck, added another finger to her throat. "Bitch!" He thrust deeply, held himself still, thrust further still and undulated his hips, pulled out, and repeated. He released her neck and grabbed her head and placed both hands over her mouth, thrusting his fingers deeper down her throat while he thrust his cock deeper into her ass. When he finally came, he slapped her face repeatedly as he emptied himself inside her ass. He found his bed yanked backwards and was quickly flipped back onto his back where he looked up and saw Lyle climbing onto the bed. Jarod's legs were place high into stirrups.

"NO!" Jarod sobbed.

Lyle's forced his engorged dick into ass.

"Oh yes." Lyle yelled. "Yes." He muffled Jarod's cries with his mouth. "Yes. Fuck. Yes. Ah!"

Lyle pulled out abruptly, and quickly straddled Jarod's face.

"NO!"

Jarod gagged and choked as Lyle fucked his mouth. Jarod struggled to turn his head or get some room to extract Lyle's dick from his throat but three sweepers held him in position. He was forced to swallow every inch of Lyle's dick. "OH yes, Jarod. Fuck yes!" Jarod choked, gagged, could barely breath as Lyle humped deeper.

Lyle came quickly and with the help of three other sweepers forced Jarod to remain in position and swallow every drop of semen, all while gagging and gurgling. Finally, Lyle pulled his limp cock from Jarod's throat.  
"You give as good head as my big sis." Lyle laughed.

Jarod wanted to curse but his throat was burning. He was going to get out of this hell, he was going to get them both out of this hell. He already had the plan, now it was just a matter of putting it into action.


	8. Condemnation: Execution Day

Lyle returned. He always came back. Fuck him. This time, Jarod had a plan. He'd been confiscating items. A key here, a paper clip there, a pill here, a syringe there and a great deal of twine and IV cord.  
He waited until Lyle reach for his arm.  
"You don't have to shackle me. I want to taste you." Jarod whispered.  
"Learning to like it?"  
"Love it." Jarod smiled. "I want you."  
What Jarod was learning was to become a monster. Punishing Miss Parker for wanting the freedom he'd relished for ten years. Who could blame her? No one should. But he was beginning to. And he would kill her with his bare hands if he didn't get the hell out of the Centre.

"Please now, hurry. I need it so bad." Jarod helped Lyle with his pants. What Jarod wanted to have Parker again, and again. And again. He could violate her to death. He was certain of it.

And Lyle was going to rue the fucking day.  
"That's it, Jarod. Yes. Lick it...oh, yes. Suck...oh, fuck. yes. Turn around, baby. Let me fuck you."  
Jarod obeyed, took it up the ass willing. "Yes." He hissed. A lie. "You have no idea Lyle, no idea how fucking good it feels to have you inside me."  
Lyle was spent very soon, all according to plan. He collapsed on top of Jarod, had no idea that Jarod had been hiding twine and IV cord from underneath the mattress.  
Slowly, Jarod got up and rolled Lyle onto his back. "Oh baby." Lyle whispered as Jarod kissed him deeply, all the while tying Lyle's hands tightly.  
"You're ass is so tight, Jarod. Oh, I love it."  
"I know!" Jarod exclaimed loudly to muffle the sounds of his movement.  
"What...what are you doing, Jarod?" Lyle asked as Jarod yanked the twine tightly.  
Jarod spat on his hand to lubricate his erect penis.  
Lyle had no idea what was coming.  
"I want to fuck you, Lyle."  
"Uh, no. Jarod, untie my hands. Jarod...Jarod! Jarod! Jarod, no! No, Jarod!"  
Lyle's eyes went wide when he felt the tip of Jarod's dick press into his ass.  
"Please, no!'  
"Yes, Lyle." Jarod trust with all his weight behind him.  
"NO! What are you...ahhhhHH!" Jarod muffled Lyle's screams with his mouth as he buried his cock in Lyle's ass and stilled his movement.  
"Yes, bitch. Lyle, Oh, fuck! You're so fucking tight!" Jarod moaned into Lyle's mouth. "My bitch. My. Bitch!" Still buried to the hilt, Jarod tilted his pelvis forward, pushing deeper into Lyle.  
"Stop Jarod. Please!"  
"You're uh...my uh...bitch uh..you mother fucker!" Jarod growled as he fucked Lyle.. "Just like you were Daddy Lyle's little bitch. Jarod tightened his hands around Lyle's neck, yanked him down and thrust into him. "All those women, Lyle. You're going to know how they felt. I'm going to kill you as I come inside of you, Lyle. Oh yes."  
"J...a...ro...d." Lyle gasped.  
"That's uh..right. You're going to fucking die as my bitch."  
"Pl..."  
"Beg with your last breath, just like those women. Do it mother fucker. Ah, fuck yes!"  
Lyle's red face was turning a shade of purple, his vision blurred as his eyes rolled up in his head.  
"J..." Lyle choked, gasped for a breath wouldn't come.  
"Ahh, yes..fuck, yes! Oh yes.. bitch.." Jarod yelled over and over, his entire body thrusting up wildly as he fucked Lyle and squeezed Lyle's throat tighter and tighter. "Fuck fuck yes. fuck!"

Lyle felt Jarod come inside him just as death welcomed him into its wide open arms.

Checking that Lyle was dead, Jarod untied him, shoved the cord into his pocket and waited for Willie.

Jarod heard the door slam, saw the black sweeper enter. The Pretender had the forethought to place Lyle face down between his legs. Jarod screamed. "Not so hard, Lyle. Don't bite so hard. Please, don't bite it off!"  
Lyle was dead and wasn't going to be biting anything off but Willie didn't know that. The black sweeper took his pants off and began stroking himself. "Ready for me, Jarod?"  
"Yes Willie." Jarod pulled the sweeper onto his body, they shared a kiss. The sweeper had no idea that Jarod had gained access to a large dose of a very powerful neuroleptic they'd been injecting Jarod. The drug had been used to subdue Jarod on occasion and Lyle had especially enjoyed the side effects they'd caused Jarod: enlarged breasts and milk production. The bastard had forced Parker to suck Jarod's enlarged breasts and swallow the milk the drug had caused him to produce. Lyle would treat Jarod like a woman, like his bitch with leaking breasts. It was fucking degrading.

The black sweeper played with Jarod's enlarged breasts and squeezed the milk towards his mouth. The sweeper opened wide, swallowed a great deal and then shot the fluid into Jarod's face. "Open." Willie demanded. Jarod did. "Swallow, bitch." Willie smiled "And then suck my dick while I spray it with your milk."  
Jarod first opened his mouth, swallowed down the milk his enlarged man breasts were producing and as Willie moved towards him with his black cock in his hand, Jarod shoved the needle into Willie's stomach and dropped the plunger.  
"OHHHHHH, fuck!"  
The sweeper jerked away but quickly went down.  
Jarod climbed on top of the sweeper. "Let's see if you can take it as good as you can fucking give it you fucking goon." With that, Jarod shoved a dangerously huge vibrator up Willie's ass. The man howled in agony but was unable to fight because of the drug's effect. Jarod positioned the vibrator in place then moved up and shoved the dental apparatus into Willie's mouth, forcing it open. "Let's see if you can take as good as you fucking get."  
"Noo!" Willie screamed then gagged as Jarod forced his cock down the black man's throat. "C...an't...bre...athe..."  
"That's the fucking point!" Jarod slipped the twine around the man's neck and pulled tightly as he buried himself further than the man's throat.  
"J..."  
"I'm going to fucking kill you, Willie. You're going to die with my dick in your throat and a white vibrator up your ass. What will your mother think about that?"  
Willie gasped for a breath but the breath wouldn't come.  
"Fucking yes, bitch, yes! Uh, I'm coming, I'm coming...fuck!"  
Willie died with a mouthful of spunk and an ass-full of plastic.  
Fitting.

Jarod dressed himself, emptied the men's pockets, taking anything useful and moved towards Parker.  
"Uh..uh! N...No!" She squirmed to get away.  
"NO, no. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. We're leaving."  
"N...n...n...n..." She couldn't even speak, she was so terrified.  
"Yes. I'm going to get you help. I'm gonna get you out of here."  
"P...pll...plll...please..n...nn...no."  
Jarod unshackled all of the restraints, except the hands. He lifted her, while she kicked and screamed and hauled her over his shoulder.

"Angelo help." The empath appeared out of nowhere, nearly scaring Jarod to death. "This vent."  
"But Angelo-"  
"Friend and daughter must go. Angelo help."  
"Come with us."  
"Angelo must stay." The empath offered Jarod a small glass bottle and a syringe. "Angelo help Jarod to help daughter."  
"Angelo, what is this?"  
Jarod read the bottle.  
"Sedatives, Angelo?"  
"Give to daughter."  
Jarod obeyed.  
"Angelo go now. Angelo go help. Diversion."  
Angelo smiled and ran away.


	9. Cicatrice

Jarod admitted Parker into a psychiatric facility with doctors he knew he could trust. She was on suicide watch and was to be guarded around the clock. She refused to talk, eat, drink, and when he said goodbye, she didn't even react, and Jarod had at least expected her to show some sign of relief.

He didn't know what else to do, where else to take her and he couldn't stay. He couldn't. Not if he wanted Parker and himself to live.

There was still the Centre to deal with, still the Triumvirate to deal with.  
And they were both dealt with, both personally and painfully. Jarod had to get the aggression out of his body, out of his heart, his soul, where he felt it most. He had to get his fill of revenge and death and hurt the people who were responsible for the pain he'd caused Parker.

He allowed his soul to accept all the darkness, to become the darkness. He allowed himself to become Raines' creation as opposed to Sydney's charge, as opposed to the gentle child he'd been. He dismembered men with his bare hands without even blinking and with no remorse. When the Centre had been depersonneled, Jarod took out Pakor and Nu-Genesis and thousands of other facilities the Centre was in bed with. And then he sat his sights on the Africa. He arrived in Equatorial Africa on Monday, engaged in battle for four months before defeating all of the reinforcements. That was only half the battle. There were still rebel Zulus to beat back, but when the mission was finally completed, Jarod stole a private plane for the Zulu's fleet and head back to the states.

Six and half months had passed slowly and without any updates on Parker, Jarod anxiously raced down the hall of the mental facility on to discover that Parker had somehow escaped.

No one could figure out how, but she'd had vanished. Without a trace.

Fortunately, Angelo had pinpointed her location in a matter of days.

Jarod stood outside the small clinic in the rural Hubei province of China in the seething, scorching heat and wiped sweat from his brow. What she was doing here when she and their unborn child needed real care in a real facility? Feeling a little sick, Jarod pulled open the door. His eyes studied the occupants. About seventy children and three women. Two were Asian, the other stood tall with her back to him. Parker. Her hair was darker, shorter, straight and curled up neatly on the ends.

Parker crouched down in front of little girl that couldn't have been a day over five.  
"This is going to pinch for a moment." Parker explained in Chinese as she prepared a syringe.  
"Why?" The girl asked in her native tongue.  
"The medicine will prevent you from contracting a disease, it will save your life."  
The little girl nodded and pulled up her sleeve. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"  
"Not so bad." The girl replied.

Parker smiled, stood and then turned to face him. Jarod's breath hitched.  
She was okay. Haunted, yes but alive. She wasn't shattered to pieces.

And she wasn't pregnant either because by now, she'd be nearly full term.

Her eyes met his and instantly widened in fear, the smiled vanished. And so did Parker. She was a streak running towards the back door.

Another year would pass before he found her again. She'd returned to the states, reconnected with Broots and Sydney briefly but had moved on. They'd been reminders of the pain she'd caused, and of her own suffering. Parker had finally settled down near Venice Beach. She knew that he would find her eventually but requested that Sydney tell Jarod to call before visiting.

The telephone conversation had been short. She'd given a time and a location. The pier at 10:30.  
They say it never rains in southern California. They lied.  
It had rained for two days and on the morning of their meeting, the day promised more rain. Jarod skipped breakfast and arrived at eight. He didn't know what else to do, he was so tired of waiting. He paced the pier, finally sat on the edge and looked out at the water as a light mist drizzled over him from the cloudy sky above.  
At 11:45, he decided she wasn't going to show. Jarod stood, turned and there she was at the opposite end of the pier.

He approached her slowly, not wanting to scare her off. He had to force himself to move slowly.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this." She turned too late to run. He caught her in a gentle grasp.  
"Yes, you can. It's okay. I won't hurt you. I swear. I... I...I..." Say something, Jarod! "I...uh...I.. hear that you're painting, just like your mother. I'd really like to see your work..."

"Not yet. I can't have you in my home. I'm sorry." She blurted out.  
It had taken a long time to feel comfortable with herself again, and she was still trying to feel safe.  
"Okay, it's okay, I understand. You're..you're teaching art at a nearby community college."  
"It..." She took a deep breath, glanced around nervously. "it pays the bills."  
"Sydney told me that you've sold several paintings."  
"The governor is my biggest fan. It's all about who you know in this state. Lucky for me, the dean of schools developed a tiny crush on me and made it his business to brag about me." They began walking. "Look, I know you want to know about the baby. You have a right to hear it from me. I'm going to say it and then I'm going to leave. If you never speak to me again, I understand. Jarod, I ...I had..I couldn't.." She couldn't find the words. "I couldn't.."  
"You didn't have an accident." He said tearfully.

"No. I hoped that I would. I even had a few intentional accidents, a fall down flight of stairs, a car crash into a brick wall and nothing was enough to induce a miscarriage. When I began contemplating suicide, suicide because of those cells growing inside..cells that were smaller than most tumors that people have removed everyday, well.." She rubbed the space under her nose twice, was fighting back tears, was trying to rationalize what she'd done. "I realized that I had a problem and...to make a long story short, I...I..." She took a deep breath. "had an abortion."  
"God, Parker." He sobbed.  
"I couldn't go through with it!" She screamed at him. "I'm not that strong, not strong enough to make that huge of a sacrifice!"  
She turned to leave, as promised, but he pulled her back gently by the tips of her fingers.  
"I understand." Jarod whispered.  
"I don't even understand it." She exclaimed with the snatch of her fingers. "I know it was murder, I know that and I know you and probably everyone else in this country will think I'm a terrible person for killing an innocent baby. You have that right, just as I had my right to terminate the pregnancy. You should know...I saw the sonogram picture before the procedure." Her voice shook. "It was a boy."  
Those words hit their intended target. His heart. Jarod trembled and felt for the bench behind him and quickly sat before falling onto the pier.

Parker stared at him for a solid minute, then turned and walked away, leaving Jarod to sob alone.


	10. Conviction of the Heart

Conviction of the Heart

* * *

Thanks to all of the incredible reviewers and a very special thanks to KatharineTheShrew!

* * *

Jarod remained seated on the bench, overlooking the pier and the pacific ocean, even as the mist gave way to a downpour. Passersby returned to their cars and homes and the businesses littered along the streets nearby and the world became as gray and desolate as he felt inside. Jarod didn't move. He welcomed the rain, hoped it would wash him clean, wash away the pain and all of the stains that remained on both his and Ms. Parker's life.

That seemed impossible. Any happiness, any future seemed out of reach despite everything he'd done, and how hard he'd worked to secure that future, their lives.  
She didn't even want to work through the problems and who could blame her? Jarod stood hours later, soaked to the bone. All his tears used up, cried out. There was nothing for him in California. Only rain. Pain. He drove himself to the airport.

* * *

Parker awoke abruptly, just as she had every night since the ordeal she'd barely escaped alive. The same nightmare. The same **_fucking_** nightmare! Only when she reached for the light, did she realize she was still asleep.

_Or am I?_

Jarod was not supposed to be seated in the wicker chair near her vanity mirror. He wasn't supposed to gazing at her, tears in his eyes, looking as if he'd aged ten _fucking_ years in only fifteen hours' time. There wasn't supposed to gray in his hair, not that much, or lines on his face, not so deep, not so many.

It took her a few minutes to realize that he was really inside her home, inside her bedroom. The reaction came slowly and with a gasp.

Suddenly, she felt naked in the navy cotton track-pants and white long sleeve shirt, she felt naked in the bathrobe she slept in, even though buried under blankets, even though she lived in the relentless southern California heat.

Terror screwed up her face, she tried to blink him away. That didn't work.

Jarod was still there. He was in her home, several feet away. He was in her fucking bedroom!

She began trembling, and no matter how she tried to stop the shudders, they wouldn't cease.

What the fuck are you doing here! She wanted to scream, tried to scream, couldn't even fucking breath.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Miss Parker. I swear I'm not.."

"W..." She attempted to reach back for the Ice Queen but the Ice Queen had frozen rock solid and had been shattered from the inside out. Parker was a shell of her former self, hollowed out and living in terror. She tried again. "W..what" Those were the broken words she uttered and that was not at _all_ how it had sounded in her mind. "I'm so...sorr..sorry about the baby, I'm so sorry but I couldn't..."

"I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not here to talk about the b..baby, I'm not, I don't blame you for making that choice, I don't blame you and I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."  
"P...p...please, leave."

"I can't leave you. I can't." He whispered. "You need to take a deep breath, Miss Parker. Just breathe." Jarod offered his help.  
"I ...no...please.." She was gasping, struggling, hyperventilating. Parker reached for the nightstand and Jarod thought she was going for the gun, which was in his possession, hidden away out of her sight so that it wouldn't further terrify her, but then he realized he'd been wrong with he heard the pill bottle rattling and watched her pop off the lid and pour two pills into her trembling hand.

"No." He tried to stop her but they were in her mouth and a glass of water was suddenly in her hands.

Pills.  
Fuck.  
It was the only way she'd been able to meet him. She had scheduled him in during her regularly scheduled dosage, her fear fix. It was why she'd been so insistent on having prior knowledge of when he'd arrived.  
She had to swallow down drugs in order to function. This was her life now, this, a two bedroom bungalow with an adjoined kitchen and dining room, a bathroom and a spacious glassed in (the glass was both tinted and shatter proof) back porch overlooking the pacific ocean. The porch could serve as sun room or greenhouse but it's where she painted and sketched, it's where people came to life in the the portraits she drew. She could see out, enjoy the view and the sun shining in on her but no one see in and further more, there was a high tech security system. No one could break in. _**Except**_ Jarod.

"Okay." He whispered. "I'll give you a minute."  
"Can..." No, Parker, damn you, don't ask him. Tell him! "You have to leave. Now. I can't do this."  
"I think the sooner.."  
"I don't give a damn what you think!"  
There you go, girl. Reestablish yourself as a force to be reckoned with.  
"I'm worried..about you."  
"So am I, Jarod but I'm still here. I survived. I'm making the most of what I was able to salvage of my self." And that wasn't saying much.  
"It's hasn't been easy to pick up the pieces."  
She shook her head, agreed.

"For me either." He whispered. "That's why you almost killed Broots."  
"He opened the door and.."  
"It was his house. He only wanted to see if you needed anything, and he knocked first."  
"The gun...it went off. I swear." She was trembling again.  
"Breathe. Deep breaths." His voice so hypnotic as he spoke. It was the voice that haunted her sleep, woke her in the night. It terrified her.

"You're very pale." Jarod whispered. "Awfully pale. I noticed on the pier this morning and I couldn't get on that plane..I won't get on that plane until I know that you are not hurting yourself. What are you doing to yourself? Cutting? Anorexia? Bulimia? All of the above? You're very thin so.."  
"You think I'm sticking my finger down my throat? You think I'd have to do _that_? A single memory could induce vomiting, Jarod. One thought, one second spent in the past, and I lose my lunch, no finger necessary, so if you came to lecture me.."  
"I came here to make sure you are okay."

"I'm not okay. I may never again be okay but I'm here. I'm alive and Freud tells me that _that's_ all that matters. Sometimes I wonder..."  
"Are you cutting again?"  
"That was college. My father...he...I-I tired of his excuses. I was alone because I pushed everyone away, just like my father pushed me away. He pushed me away and he controlled me at the same time, he controlled my classes and where I studied and who I spoke to. He controlled everything, Jarod. I.." Parker said in angry growl. "I needed to control something, to relieve some pressure. I needed to numb myself, I needed to take all of the pain, all of the emotional pain and put it somewhere else, divert it elsewhere, convert it to physical pain, to something I could handle, to something that would finally heal. It's something I don't expect you or anyone else to understand."

"The physical wounds healed but the emotional ones never have."  
"Maybe you do understand."  
"That's what I was raised to do, Miss Parker. I can help you." He stood and that single move sent her scooting away towards the other side of the bed.  
"I don't need help, the cutting ended during my junior year. I'm not anorexic or bulimic and the pills...are for anxiety."

"Does your doctor...the one who wrote that script...does he know that you're depressed? You leave the house only to teach and only three days a week, your groceries are delivered, you spend all of your time in the safety of your walled in, glass porch."  
"It's where I work, it pays the bills."  
"You're planning to quit the teaching job. It's too stressful to walk outside isn't it?"  
"Get out."  
"That's right, push me away too, just like you always have. That's what you're doing. You're fencing all of the danger out and those same fences that keep others out...keep you fenced in. You think you're protecting yourself, you think you're safe. Miss Parker, you live just steps from the ocean. Have you even walked on that beach since you arrived her last year?"  
"I don't have time."  
"Then I suggest you make time. Do it for yourself. Please. Your fear of leaving the house is making you sick and it's a vicious cycle really, because the sunshine could help you with the depression but the longer you hide in this house, the more withdrawn you'll become, the more depressed you'll become, the sicker you'll feel. You deserve a life. You deserve to live. If you die alone here, I'll never forgive myself."  
Parker watched the tears tumble down his cheek.  
"Don't make me leave you. All I want to do is ... to help you. That's all I want to do. Please, let me help you. Please. I'm not above begging, Miss Parker, not if means that you live. I need...I need this too, I need some reason, something.." He was sobbing and on his knees. "I have to make this right. For you. For myself."

With difficulty, Parker cleared her clouded mind enough to realize that if Jarod had intended to hurt her again, he would have already done so. And once she'd seem that stunning light of rationale and knew that safety was not an issue, she searched herself further. She clung to the truth, the truth she believed to be true in her heart, that Jarod, under normal circumstances, would have never done anything to hurt her or anyone in any way. He would protect her at all costs. Even now. He needed to reach out as much as she did and knowing Jarod, he'd probably never even mentioned his own welfare, his own torture or the abuses he'd suffered to anyone. No one knew his story, that he'd lost control in the end, lost control of himself. He had snapped and taken lives, had become the evil despite struggling his entire life to never become one of them, to never be Lyle, to never be cruel. He'd become the evil that he'd been faced with, that had been thrust upon him. He'd been drugged, coerced. Just like her. And she knew that he needed to heal, and that perhaps, they could help each other in some small way because they knew how severely they'd each suffered and no one else could understand that kind of suffering.

"There's another bedroom."  
His face changed suddenly, features turned from a sorrowful, pleading face, to relief. The tears remained, his gasps for breath continued but relief filled him.

"There will be rules." She blurted abruptly. "You can't come in here like this again. No more sneaking into my bedroom...it's off limits to you. This is my room! I will need my space, some time."  
"To adjust. I know. I won't pressure you. The healing process can't be rushed. All I ask right now, is that you take a walk on the beach tomorrow..I don't have to be there. You can go alone. I won't do anything that you don't want me to do but you have to get some sun, some air."

"Jarod, I don't know if I can be your friend, some days I won't even be nice to you. You might want to rethink this."  
"No. I want to help you. All I care about is your health. If you want my friendship, if you want anything at all, I'm here and available but like I said, I won't do anything, I won't say or suggest anything and I won't seek anything else from you. I'm only here to help you heal, to encourage you to continue teaching or to do something, to leave this house. I have quite a bit of money, I'll pay the rent.."

"I don't rent. The house is mine, paid for in cash."

"Then I'll pay property taxes, the electric bill, all of the bills. I'll do the shopping, repair the leaking faucet outside and anything else that needs to be done. I'll cook for you and see to it that you're getting the right doses of the appropriate medication. I'll be here to talk, to make sure you're taking care of yourself, that you keep living. Sydney's right, you know. That's what matters, Miss Parker. That's _all_ that matters right now and I know it doesn't hardly seem worth it, but eventually, you'll smile again, and then, soon after that, you're going to even laugh and then, one day, Parker, you're going to finally be free of the past, free of the fears, and even free of me if that's what you want. But that day _can't_ come and you can't do any of those things if you're not alive. Now..." He said, walking towards the door. "If's okay with you. I'll uh, I'll go to my room. If you have second thoughts, though I hope you don't, I will leave. Just tell me."

"I'll tell you."

"Okay, then. Goodnight."

She nodded, watched him leave and didn't lay back down, didn't sleep at all the remainder of the night.

Neither did Jarod. He lay in the bed and listened to the nearby ocean and was just thankful for the opportunity to help a friend.

It was a beginning.


End file.
